You Have to Fall to Rise
by Hope's Survival
Summary: Maria Stark discovers the secret her mother has tried to keep from her for 20 years. Angry and hurt, she is taken from her home by her unwilling uncle and SHIELD. With a new criminal organization on the rise, the Avengers must stop it. But when it proves to be much larger than they had intel about, Marie has to fight for her life and, also, the fate of the world. Steve Rogers/OC
1. Prologue

**Hello, and welcome to the rewrite (sort of) of _Becoming Noble_!**

**This is only the prologue and is very short but the chapters themselves will be a lot longer. There will be more to come in a little while!**

**STORY INFO**

**Paring: Captain America/Steve RogersxOC**

**Rating: T (might go up to M)**

**Genre: Action/Friendship/Romance**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark Cline, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

**Enjoy!**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Prologue

"Are you sure about this?"

"Dad, I've told you a million times, of course I am." Joan replied evenly. "I would do anything to help your research."

She was sitting on a chair like the ones found in dentist's offices. Her feet were propped up and she was leaning back. Her hands were folded over her slightly plump stomach. She was three months pregnant.

Howard Stark, middle aged and graying at his temples, smiled down at his daughter. "Thank you, Pumpkin. Anything you want in the future, you can have it."

Joan returned his grin with one of her own. "Alright, I'm ready."

Her father nodded and put on a pair of latex gloves. He raised his daughter's shirt to expose her small baby bump. He turned and picked up one of the two small syringes on the metal tray next to the seat. He filled it from a vial labeled: _Penicillin_. He faced Joan again and sterilized her arm with a cotton swab damp with rubbing alcohol.

Howard did the quick injection into her deltoid muscle and then put a band-aid on the puncture from the needle.

After, he prepared the other small syringe with another dose of penicillin. He cleaned a patch of skin just below Joan's navel and slowly inserted the antibiotic into her womb where the three-month-old fetus was growing.

Howard quickly prepared another, larger syringe with blue liquid that was tinted slightly purple. He had spent years trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that Dr. Erskine had taken to his grave. He was not far from the real deal but he had also altered the effects of it.

He saw Joan's eyes widen at the size of the needle. She gulped.

"Joan, relax, it's alright." Her father soothed. "This is your last chance to back out, I'll understand. This is a big and scary decision on your part."

"No, I'm doing this." She said shaking her head.

Howard nodded and got the large shot ready for the injection.

"On the count of three, alright? One…two…three!"

Joan's only sign of discomfort was the sharp intake of breath through her nose.

As the pain receded, her stomach tingled slightly, the serum filling the womb fully.

"That's it!" Her father announced. "All done!"

"Really? That wasn't so bad."

"Yes, this procedure isn't like the one with Steve Rogers where we had to speed up his growth. This one allows the body to adapt to it over time and may, in some ways, be stronger than the original serum." He paused before continuing. "Joan, I don't know what kind of development will happen but, from my studies with the rats, your child will not go under any harm."

"Thank you, Dad." She reached out and took her father's hand lovingly.

"No, Sweetheart, I should be the one thanking you."

Joan laughed quietly. "I can't wait to have this child!"

"Neither can I."

-Break-

Howard Stark never met Joan's baby. He and his wife died in a car crash the week after the procedure, leaving Joan and her younger brother, Tony, to live on by themselves.

Joan had her baby, a girl, and named her Maria Haley Stark.

From birth, she didn't show any difference from the other children. She was normal. It wasn't until the child was nine years old when her powers and mutations appeared.

-End Chapter-

**Thank you for reading! I hope you are interested and will want to read the next chapter!**

**There are a few things you (the reader) can do for me!**

**You can answer a couple questions! They will help me with the story and I would greatly appreciate it if you would leave your answers in a review or a Private Message.**

**Questions/Requests:**

**Does this story sound more interesting? Or is _Becoming Noble _better?**

**What Point of View should this story be in, first person or third person?**

**There is a poll on my profile asking you guys what powers/abilities you would like Marie to have! It will help me a lot because I can't decide!**

**Well, I think that's it! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon and that will introduce Marie!**

**PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEWS INSPIRE ME TO WRITE FASTER!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Akatsukigurl93**

**Cheers!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello! I would like to thank all those who read the prologue and added this story to their Alert and/or Favorite lists. And I would like to thank all those who voted in the pole on my profile, the three of you know who you are.**

**I would like to give a huge shout out to my two **_**only **_**reviewers: ** . .

WolfDarkfur

**Thank you for your feedback!**

**Note: I would like to inform you guys that the next two chapters will follow the two in the story _Becoming Noble_.**

**Now, enough babbling, ON TO THE STORY!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter One

Maria Haley Stark sat in front of her five monitor, advanced computer. She was deep in thought.

She was amazingly smart for her age of twenty, a genius much like her Uncle. She had already finished college earlier that year and had been living at home with her mother in Ilwaco, Washington. She wasn't quite sure of what she wanted to do with her life. At the moment she was just exploring her options.

Right now, and for the past four years, she had been trying out the 'inventor' dream she had had since she was young. She had built her own artificial intelligence computer into her room and the house. It wasn't as advanced as Tony's, but it would improve over time.

Tony Stark, a name that tasted bitter and foreign on her tongue. It evoked harsh memories. He was her Uncle and she hadn't seen him for over a decade. The _lies _that had spewed from his mouth prevented her from even talking to him.

Hell, she hadn't even thought about him until about a year ago when he admitted he was 'Iron Man.' And now, after the events of the alien attack on New York City and the assembling of the Avengers, Marie simply had to know what was going on in this agency called S.H.I.E.L.D..

She just hoped she wasn't going to get caught in what she was about to do.

Her fingers flew over the keys of her custom keyboard, eyes flickering from screen to screen.

"AIVAS, prepare a folder for copied files and make sure it is protected with all of our security systems on screen five, please."

"Yes, ma'am. What would you like the title to be? And I would not suggest something obviously suspicious like 'Top Secret.'"

Marie laughed as she carefully got past S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewall with her hacking programs she invented just for this purpose. "Name it 'Porn,' no one would look in there. And put my usual password on it."

"Right away."

Marie found an open port in the complex system and accessed it. She, then, ran a program which cracked the authentication processes and passwords in minutes. She finally had access to documents.

She tapped the touch screen of her main monitor and brought up the folder titled _Avenger's Initiative_.

"Start copying and downloading." She commanded.

Files started flickering on screen two at an extremely fast rate. Marie could see the files appearing into the recently created folder on screen five.

She went into the _Avenger's Initiative_ folder and found seven more of them, each were titled with a name: Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Thor the God of Thunder, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Steve Rogers/Captain America, and finally Tony Stark/Iron Man. Each had an icon with their faces on it.

Marie's hand hovered over the Captain's icon and then Tony's as she remembered a distant conversation with one of them involving the other. He was about to open the Captain's folder when the last icon caught her attention. It was named _Soon-to-be Members_.

Knowing she will be able to read the others' files at her leisure, she opened the last one up. Inside was only one icon and the name on it along with the picture made her heart stop.

It was her's.

Hands trembling slightly, she opened it up. Inside were even more folders labeled: _General Information_, _Bio_, _Pictures_,_ Abilities/Powers_, and _Log_.

She tapped her finger on the _Picture_ icon and her eyes widened. These photos went from her baby picture to ones taken only days before. Has someone been watching her? Were they watching her now?

"AIVAS, download this folder, too."

"Download commencing."

Marie went to the biography part of the file and hesitantly started reading.

_Pre-birth:_

_Before Maria Haley Stark was born, her grandfather, Howard Anthony Walter Stark, injected the womb of her three-month pregnant mother, Joan Mariel Stark, with a derivative formula of the Super Soldier Serum. No abnormalities appeared until Stark was nine years old. What caused the delay is unknown._

Below the small paragraph were old pictures of Marie's grandfather and her mother grinning, standing side by side. Further down the page was another picture of a vial filled with bluish-purple liquid.

The bio continued below that, but she couldn't read anymore. Tears sparkled in her eyes.

Tony had been telling the truth…

_Nine-year-old Marie waved good bye to her friends as she made her way to the bus that would take her home. School had been long and boring. She already knew all of the material and was waiting for the year to end so that she could move up another grade._

_As she got into line to get on the bus, a car horn caught her attention. She turned and saw an expensive, red sports car pull up to the curb. She knew that car anywhere, it was her Uncle Tony._

_He had been up from California visiting for the past couple days._

_Marie beamed and jogged over to the car, her backpack bouncing on her back._

"_Hi, Tony!" She greeted as she got into the passenger seat._

_He didn't answer, but pulled away from the curb and onto the street. He looked very upset._

"_Uncle Tony? You okay?" Marie asked slightly uncomfortable. He was hardly ever angry. She hoped it wasn't directed at her._

"_Marie, I'm going to tell you something that you won't want to hear but you need to know." He started but hesitated, fearing what would happen when he continued. "Something happened when you were inside your mother's tummy."_

_Marie looked at him confused._

"_Your mother had our father inject her stomach when she was three months pregnant with you with something that altered your DNA."_

_Marie stared blankly at him before dissolving into laughter. "Tony that is the funniest, craziest thing that I've ever heard from you!"_

"_Marie." He ground out, but Marie didn't stop laughing. He tried again to get her attention but it didn't work. So he did something he didn't do often, he shouted at her._

"_God damn it, Maria, listen to me!" Tony meant business when he called her by her birth name and not the nickname he usually used._

_Marie stopped laughing instantly._

"_My father was trying to recreate a serum that his friend, a doctor, made to make Captain America a long time ago. He used you as an experiment as did your mother." Tony continued as Marie's eyes grew wider with each passing word. "I saw pictures of the procedure, Marie!"_

_He parked his car in front of Marie's house._

"_You're lying." She whispered quietly._

"_No, I'm sorry, but I'm not."_

"_Stop it!" Marie screamed, tears finally falling, She rushed out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. She ran into the house._

_Tony sighed, perhaps that wasn't the best way to tell her. He got out of the car and headed to the front door._

"_You asshole!" Joan, his older sister, screeched, striding outside toward him. "How dare you lie to her!"_

_He stopped and stared at her in shock, he couldn't believe what Joan just said. She was the one lying. "Lie to her?! Me?! I told her what she deserved to know!" He yelled back. "Don't tell me you're trying to protect her! Look at what you did before she was born! You put her in danger just for a little science experiment! It makes me sick just thinking about it!"_

_Tony's face snapped to the side from the force of Joan's hand making contact with it._

"_How dare you. Get out of here, Tony, and don't you dare come back. After the lies you have said here, you don't deserve to be part of our family." Joan snarled._

"_You can't just tell me to go away! I'm your brother!"_

"_Go away now or I'll have a restraining order put on you for threatening me and my daughter."_

_Tony stared at his older sister, appalled. Not only had he found out about the procedure but she was lying about it._

_He looked past Joan to the door way leading into the house where Marie stood, tears streaming down her face, staring at the two siblings with eyes that held fear._

"_I'm sorry, Sweetheart." He said loud enough for her to hear._

_Then, Tony turned, got in his car, and left._

Marie wiped away tears that had fallen from her eyes as the memory faded.

She felt intense sadness for not believing Tony, for not talking to him for over ten years.

But the sadness didn't last long, because it was quickly replaced with anger.

Pure rage.

How could her mother do that?! How could she lie to her own daughter and then cast her brother out of their lives just to keep the truth a secret?!

Marie picked up an empty glass and threw it violently at the wall. It shattered on impact. She was seeing red and desperately wanted an alcoholic drink.

AIVAS wisely kept quiet.

Marie put on her leather jacket and grabbed her red motorcycle helmet. She had to go blow off some major steam or else she would hurt someone.

At the bottom of the stairs waiting for her was her mother looking worried and concerned.

"Honey, are you okay? I heard glass breaking."

"No, I'm not okay. I'm going out for a bit." Marie bit out.

"What's wrong?"

"You, that's what's wrong!"

"What did I do?" Joan asked confused.

"You lied."

And with that, she walked out the door with out waiting for a reply. She got on her slick motorcycle and headed toward her sanctuary, _The Main Event_.

-Eight Hours Earlier, East Coast, Somewhere Over the Atlantic Ocean-

Tony Stark was not happy. Not only had he not been able to get a full night of sleep, he was woken up three hours early by his girlfriend, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, to be taken to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main base on the helicarrier.

Nick Fury had once again intruded in on his life.

Tony grumpily made his way through the metal halls of the floating aircraft carrier dressed in one of his pristine suits. He wore sunglasses even though he was inside and his dark hair was combed back out of his face.

After a few more turns, he entered the control room through two sliding glass doors. Everyone was already there and sitting at the round table except for Thor, God of Thunder. He was in Asgard after bringing his brother, Loki, God of Mischief, home. It had only been one month since he had been defeated.

"Alright, Patches, you better have a good reason for interrupting my beauty sleep." Tony addressed Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director.

The director rolled his good eye, he was already getting irritated. "Take a seat, Stark. We have an important topic to discuss."

The billionaire genius playboy sat in the seat between Steve Rogers, also known as the famous Captain America, and Dr. Bruce Banner, who nobody wanted to get angry.

"Alright, people, we have our eyes on a new, potential member." Fury started and nodded to Agent Hill who was standing slightly behind him. In her hands were manila folders.

'_You mean _you _have your_ eye _on a new, potential victim.' _Tony thought he took off his sunglasses.

Agent Hill passed out the folders to each of the heroes. They all knew what were in the folders, it was the new member's file; everything that could possibly be known about them. Government agencies never cared about one's privacy.

Tony took the folder and tossed it, uncaringly, onto the table, not even taking a peek at it. Everyone in the room glanced at him after reading the front of the file, suddenly tense but curious. He ignored them.

"As you can see, in her general information, she is very young, only twenty years old. She will be the first person we have accepted into S.H.I.E.L.D. to be younger than twenty-five." Each member was following along with Fury except for Tony. He had his eyes closed was starting to slump in his chair, falling into a light doze.

Fury immediately noticed and cleared his throat. "Stark," Tony jumped, "please join us in the land of the living."

Tony sighed and grabbed the folder; he turned it to the side to read the name on the tab. His eyes grew wide and he dropped the file.

'_Maria Haley Stark'_ it read.

Tony immediately filled with anger. How dare Fury drag her into this! He stood up, knocking his chair back, and slammed his hands down on the table.

"What the hell is this?!" His voice was dangerously low in a tone that no one in the room had ever heard before.

All eyes were on him, the funny, laid back Tony Stark had disappeared. His eyes were piercing Nick Fury's one and the Director stared back, unfazed.

"What do you mean, Stark?" He asked innocently.

"You know damn well what I mean! She's only a kid!" Tony was near yelling now.

"Tony, how do you know her?" Natasha Romanoff, codename: Black Widow, asked.

"Marie is my niece and she is not getting dragged into this mess."

The rest of the Avengers looked shocked. They had never seen Tony so worked up, nor had they known about any other surviving family.

"I'm afraid she has no choice now, her mother is already informed of us."

"Marie doesn't know?!" The Iron Man snarled.

"Her mother said she wasn't home when I went there." Fury responded calmly. "Stark, the process has already begun. There is no turning back. Even if she refuses, she is still coming here."

Tony was breathing heavily, he was so angry. "That's the problem with this stupid government crap! You don't give anyone a choice. Hell, you could kill anyone you wanted and they wouldn't have any say in it!"

With that, Tony grabbed the folder roughly in his hands and proceeded to march out of the meeting. He didn't stop walking until he reached the large mess hall. There he grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on one of the picnic style benches.

The manila folder was on the table in front of him, taunting him.

'Look inside me, find out what you have missed in these past years.' It said to him.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. A headache was coming on.

An image of a young girl with short, walnut brown hair flashed through his mind. She had a huge smile on her face. Marie was always having fun when he visited. Unfortunately, Tony hadn't visited his sister and niece fore a very long time. Over ten years to be exact for reasons that pained him to think about.

'_She would be totally different now.' _He guessed.

He slowly opened the file in front of him. A picture of Marie greeted him, one he had never seen before. She was older; no baby fat was on her face. He was pleased to see that her hair was still a short, pixie style cut. He liked short hair on her, it gave Marie character, and her facial expressions always looked so intense with it. But, what caught his attention were her eyes. They were a deeper green than he remembered.

The date on the picture surprised him. It was taken on January 18, 2012. That was almost six months ago! How long had Fury been watching her?!

Tony's anger rushed back to him, but he kept reading. The General Information was next.

_Name: Maria Haley Stark_

_Gender: Female_

_Date of Birth: March 22, 1992_

_Parents: Joan Stark (November 3, 1966-present)_

_ Matthew Cline (August 14, 1965-September 22, 2000)_

_Current City: Ilwaco, WA_

Tony skipped the rest, he already knew it all.

_Education: Stark showed signs of being well ahead in school compared to others her age. She quickly advanced through elementary school. Her mother, Joan Stark, said after elementary school, Stark insisted on going to public schools. She still graduated high school at the top of her class at age sixteen._

_Stark, now, has graduated from Washington State University in Spokane, Washington. She majored in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science._

At this Tony was surprised. Marie had always wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a baker. Obviously that wasn't true anymore. Above all of that, she was studying what he majored in at MIT.

He kept reading.

_Skills: Stark shows a sense of being a genius prodigy like her Uncle, Anthony Edward Stark "Tony." She also is suspected of having hand-to-hand combat skill but Stark was never seen doing such._

Here the file went into detail about the Procedure, but Tony skipped that, not wanting to read about it.

_Not much is known._

_Past: "Maria has always been a sweet girl…" Joan Stark, mother, explains. However, observations and questioning say that she changed at the age of nine when her uncle and mother had a falling out. J. Stark says that's when her abilities started to show._

_She also suspects Stark of drinking alcohol and intoxicating herself often. No drug use is apparent._

Tony sat back feeling sick. How could this have happened? It was awful.

He wasn't one to talk though; he loved his booze, too.

How could he have left her all alone?

The genius was brought out of his self-blame when Nick Fury sat down across from him.

"I have absolutely nothing to say to you right now." Tony said, rubbing his face.

"Stark, I want you to go get her. I think it would help you both."

Tony looked up and blinked. His eyes hardened. "I told you, you're not brining her into this mess."

"You can either bring her back here yourself, or I could send agents she doesn't even know to bring her." Fury stood. "It's your choice." And with that he left, his trench coat flowing after him.

The Iron Man sighed; he already knew what he was going to do.

'_Damn Nick Fury to hell.'_ He thought for Tony Stark was going to Ilwaco, Washington State to pay a visit to his only remaining family members.

-End Chapter-

**Alright, I am actually feeling okay about this chapter.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: This is the last chapter that you guys can vote on what powers/abilities you would like Marie to have. I will unveil them next chapter. So, go to my profile and vote! It only takes like 30 seconds and I would greatly appreciate it!**

**ALSO! Please leave a REVIEW! More reviews give me motivation to write. You can tell me how much you liked it, loved it, any suggestions or questions you have, constructive criticism, or you could tell me what I need to do to improve if you absolutely hated it! (Just don't be too harsh!)**

**Until Next Time,**

**Akatsukigurl93**

**Cheers!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Wow, another update already! I am on a writing marathon!**

**I would like to thank all who reviewed, I love you all.**

**Already, more people have read this story than the other version of it, I am pretty excited!**

**As always, I love reviews and comments!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter Two

Tony had planned on going to Washington alone, but that hope quickly diminished as he entered one of the many hangers on the helicarrier. Steve Rogers was there dressed khaki pants and a blue, long sleeve, button down shirt tucked into them. He had his brown leather jacket on, keeping him warm against the wind. Natasha Romanoff stood next to him, also in street clothes, which was a rare sight. Both were carrying small bags that probably had a days worth of clothes and toiletries in them.

Fury obviously didn't trust him to do this alone.

"What is this?" Tony asked walking past the two.

Natasha fell into step beside him while Steve trailed behind.

"We're coming with you." She replied.

"No, you're not."

"You don't have a choice, Fury's orders." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, you don't know how to fly one of the quinjets, or any plane for that matter."

"Who said I was using one of your planes? I might have been using my suit to fly to Washington."

"Tony, stop being a pompous ass. You don't have your suit with you. Plus, how were you going to get Maria back here? You can't fly here with her in your arms, and I highly doubt you will fly on any commercial airline."

"Fine, I was going there in my private jet. And no, you're still not going with me." He retorted.

"Then how do you expect to get off the helicarrier?" Natasha asked smiling sweetly.

Tony glared.

"She has a point." Steve added. "You're stuck with us, Stark."

The billionaire sighed. "Come on, I want to get there as soon as possible." He resumed walking, now led by Black Widow over to one of the quinjets. He took out his cell phone and called Pepper.

"How did it go?" She greeted after two rings.

"What? No 'hello?'" Tony teased but that quickly diminished as he became serious. "Fury is recruiting my niece, Marie."

Pepper gasped through the phone. "Isn't she only twenty? Tony this isn't right!"

"I know, I haven't been this angry for a while. Pepper, I need you to pack a couple days worth of clothes for me and meet me at the jet. I'm going to talk to her and bring her here."

"So, you're just going to go along with this?"

"Well, its either she comes back with me or she is dragged here by other agents. I thought it would be better if she came back with someone she knew." Tony walked up the ramp and into the transportation plane. "I'm going to try to protect her as much as I can."

He took a seat across from Steve while Natasha went up to the cockpit of the quinjet to pilot the plane. The ramp closed.

"Why don't you have her stay at Stark Tower for a couple days? I would like to meet her." Pepper suggested.

Tony smiled. "That's a terrific idea! That should calm her down as well as myself. I knew I kept you around for a good reason."

"Tony…" His girlfriend warned.

They talked for a couple more minutes before they hung up.

"What's she like?" Steve asked suddenly from his seat across from Tony as the plane took off.

"Who? Marie?"

The super soldier nodded.

A far away look crossed Tony's eyes and a small smile fell on his mouth. He was remembering.

"Marie was always laughing when I visited her. There was always a grin on her face. She was smart, too. When she was really young, Marie would make me watch Disney movies with her. _The Lion King _was her favorite, if I remember correctly. I would always fall asleep during them and would wake up to her curled up against my side." He chuckled and sighed. "But, I bet all of that has changed. I hope she isn't angry with me still."

The Captain's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why would she be mad at you?"

"I haven't talked to her for eight years. Nor her mother, my sister." Tony paused and smirked. "Since when did you become so interested in my family, Old Man?"

Steve shrugged slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed. "I just thought I would try to get an idea of who she is before I officially meet her."

"Well, we'll be getting together later today, hopefully."

The rest of the trip to Washington went smoothly. Pepper had met them at the airport with a suitcase for Tony. She had wished them good luck and they had left. On the plane, Natasha had busied herself with a book while Steve tried to figure out how to work his new S.H.I.E.L.D. issued tablet, occasionally asking Natasha questions.

Meanwhile, Tony had a glass of scotch on the rocks and was coming up with how he was going to face the wrath of his sister and his niece. By the time they had landed at the little airstrip in Ilwaco, he had come up with nothing.

The three exited the private jet to see a sporty looking car already waiting for them.

"I'm driving." Tony declared and got into the drivers seat of the Audi without waiting for an answer.

Once everyone was in the car and the bags were in the trunk, the Iron Man sped off at a breakneck speed. Natasha, who was riding in the passenger's seat up front, was relaxed. Steve, who was in the back, was praying he wasn't about to die because of Tony's insane driving.

Tony, on the other hand, was wondering what her was going to say to Joan, his sister. This was going to be a stressful visit.

They passed through the downtown of the small city. Not much was there. There was the grocery store along with a hardware store, some shops, restaurants, and then there was the only night club near the end of the strip called _The Main Event_.

Soon, they were in the suburbs. They passed house after house until Tony turned down a street called 'Beacon Circle.' He pulled over and parked the car in front of the house numbered 47. It was a two story, white house. There were pale blue shutters on the windows. The front lawn was green with shrubs lining the front porch. A one door garage was to the right and connected to the house.

There wasn't a car in the driveway.

"Do you think someone's home?" Steve asked as they got out of the car.

Tony checked his watch. "Considering it is 6:30 in the evening, my sister will most likely be preparing dinner. As for Marie, I don't know if she will be here."

He started walking up the front walkway to the door but then paused. For the first time in a long while, Tony Stark was nervous.

"You okay, Stark?" Steve questioned.

Tony swallowed.

"Don't tell me you're scared." Natasha laughed lightly.

He turned and glared at his two teammates. "Tony Stark is never scared." He declared. "But, then again, you have never met my sister before."

And with that he resumed walking up the front porch steps and rang the doorbell. Behind him, Natasha and Stave smirked at each other.

At first, nobody came to the door, so Tony rang the bell again.

"I'm coming!" Came an annoyed yell from inside the house.

The door opened a second later and revealed Tony's older sister, Joan. Age had treated her well in the past decade. Her hair was only slightly gray around her ears and she didn't have very many prominent wrinkles.

Her face paled the moment she recognized him.

Tony grimaced slightly. "Uhh, hi…" He greeted lamely.

Joan's surprised expression turned into a harsh glare. "What are you doing here, Tony? I thought I told you to never come back here."

"Yeah, well, here I am." Tony returned without missing a beat. "And I'm not here to visit, unfortunately."

His sister opened her mouth to question what he could possible want, but he was saved by Natasha who stepped up to stand beside Tony. "Excuse us, Mrs. Stark, we are from S.H.I.E.L.D.. My name is Natasha Romanoff, I am an agent. This," she motioned to Steve, "is Captain Steve Rogers."

The Captain stepped forward and held out his hand. Joan took it hesitantly. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

Tony rolled his eyes. Rogers was always the one who was so polite!

"You are from S.H.I.E.L.D.? Both of you?"

"Uh, actually, all three of us." Tony corrected and then blanched, realizing what he had just said. "Sort of…" He finished lamely. He was not part of and never will work for S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Joan stared at Tony, not really believing that he would join a government agency or whatever S.H.I.E.L.D. was. She sighed. "Very well, I have a faint idea what this is about. Come in." She stepped aside and the three entered the house.

Joan led the three into the quaint living room. "When Mr. Fury came about three weeks ago, I wasn't sure if he was being serious or if it was just a bad joke."

Natasha smiled slightly. "Most people think that."

The four sat down on the two couches and a tense silence settled over the room.

Tony cleared his throat. "So is she, Marie, you know….is she here?"

A pained look crossed Joan's face. "She isn't. Maria stormed out of the front door about half an hour ago. She probably won't be back until late tonight."

"What can you tell me about her?" Natasha inquired.

Tony could feel another headache coming on. It was 'interrogation' time.

"What would you like to know?" Joan asked, not knowing where to start. She had always loved talking about her daughter.

"Her grades and schooling suggests she is _very _advanced. The subjects she majored in gave us the idea that she might have created something of her own work. Has she invented or built anything?"

"Oh yes, she built her own artificial intelligence computer into he room. It's named AIVAS and Maria keeps insisting it's a 'her,' not an 'it.'"

"What? Really? What abilities does she have?" Tony wasinterested. Was her's anything like his?

"I'm not entirely sure." Joan answered. "It is a lot like Jarvis, if I remember correctly."

Her younger brother's mind was working excitedly. Marie had to let him meet AIVAS!

"I do know, however, that AIVAS is not completely finished. Maria has been working on it for years."

"What is Maria like as a person?" Natasha intentionally changed the subject.

"She was wonderful as a child, but after Tony, stopped visiting, she changed." Joan paused, gathering what she was going to say.

"What happened?"

"Well, she started changing physically. Nothing drastic like her appearance, she didn't sprout another finger or a tail. She became more…athletic, you could say, stronger, much stronger." Joan trailed off, not wanting to say anymore, fearing 'The Secret' would have to be talked about.

"Joan, the procedure was explained in _detail _in Marie's file. Everyone in this room already knows about it." Tony glared at her and was pleased when Joan's eyes widened.

She gave a shaky sigh and looked down to the floor. "It's true. I agreed to let my father inject my womb with his version of the Super Soldier Serum." She didn't notice Steve perk up and pay very close attention to her words. "The serum didn't affect me. Maria didn't seem to be any different, too, until she was nine. Then, there started to be events that couldn't be explained."

"Like what?" Natasha pried.

"Objects moving or things falling over for no apparent reason, like a bookshelf. One night, I peeked into Maria's room when she was fourteen and her bed was floating three inches off the ground while she slept. I came to the conclusion that her brain has been affected by the serum making her telekinetic."

"You haven't seen her purposefully move something?"

"Not knowingly. I don't think she is aware of it. She has also answered questions I haven't voiced out loud and has responded to opinions that I have kept private. Its like she can read my thoughts without meaning to."

"And nobody else knows about this?" Tony questioned, this information could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

"No, I haven't told anyone." Joan paused as she looked at the three people with her in the room, a questionable expression apparent on her face.

"What do you want with Maria?" Fear was clear in her eyes now.

"What did Fury tell you?"

"That S.H.I.E.L.D. is some kind of nation wide special protection agency. And that he was interested in my daughter. What's really going on here?" The question was a demand.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is the world's protection, superheroes, some call them. They consist of myself, Clint Barton, Dr. Bruce Banner, Thor, and these two." Natasha explained as best she could. "We were the ones who stopped the alien attack on New York City."

Joan stared at them, unbelievingly. "But, why do you want my daughter?"

"Joan, Fury is interested in Marie because of her abilities. He thinks she will benefit the Avengers in some way." Tony answered. "I came here so that she wouldn't have to leave with people she doesn't know. I'm here to protect her as much as I can."

"It sounds dangerous." Joan confessed

Steve, who had been listening intently for the whole conversation, spoke up for the first time. "It is, it's very dangerous. There is always a risk. But, we do this because we want to, or because some of us have nothing else."

"In the end, it is her decision." Natasha informed Joan.

'_No, its not.' _Tony thought sadly.

Marie's mother sighed and nodded her head.

"Where is Marie now?" Tony asked.

"I fear she went to the night club, _The Main Event_. I've heard that the club has a fighting rink in the basement. Maria goes there a lot and occasionally comes home with injuries. She also smells like smoke, sweat, and alcohol."

"What kind of injuries?" Natasha asked.

"Bruising, it often looks like she has been punched in the face. She has had a couple black eyes in the past, she tries to cover it up with make up but that didn't help the swelling. She has had so many split lips and even had some blood on her clothes. There is never a lot though. They heal very quickly, faster than normal. I'm worried."

"What makes her go there?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. When she leaves, she's either bored or upset about something. Today, she stormed out the door around six o'clock this evening livid."

"Do you know why she was mad?"

"She seemed to direct her anger at me. Before she left, she called me a liar. I fear she has somehow found out about the procedure, although I have no idea how."

"When will she be back?" Natasha questioned.

"Probably in the early hours of the morning." Joan answered.

The red head nodded and stood up, checking her watch. It was only 7:14. They could not wait, Fury expected them to be back as soon as possible.

Steve and Tony stood as well, faintly knowing what they were going to do.

"Where are you going?" Joan inquired her eyes wide.

"To _The Main Event_." Natasha replied, heading to the door with the two men following. "We'll return with Maria as soon as possible."

They left the house and piled into the car. Tony sped away to the night club quickly.

They found a parking place a couple blocks from the club and started walking.

"What's a night club?" Steve wondered out loud although he had a vague idea.

"It's a place where people have fun and have sex with their clothes on." Tony answered off handedly.

Steve's reaction was priceless to him. The super soldier looked absolutely appalled. The billionaire laughed.

"Don't worry, Steve, Tony is just kidding." Natasha reassured as the large building came into view. "We aren't exactly dressed for this."

"This is why we have cash, my dear, little spider." Tony took out his wallet and flashed them the money he had in it.

As predicted, when they reached the entrance, the bouncers stopped them and told them to get in line.

Tony rolled his eyes and gave the two men a couple hundred to spit and they were immediately let in.

Steve watched the whole exchange curiously. Back in the forties, anyone could go dancing anywhere without waiting to get in!

'_But this isn't the 1940's.' _He thought sadly.

He looked at the line of people who were waiting to get in. They were glaring at them whilst some shouted insults. The women were wearing the most scandalous clothing he'd ever seen! Their short skirts and low-cut tops made him quickly look away, heat rising on his cheeks.

They entered the first set of heavy metal doors and Steve became aware of music. It wasn't like any kind of sound he ever heard before. They hadn't passed through the next set of closed doors and yet he could feel his chest pulsing slightly with the deep bass.

It was slightly unnerving.

Natasha turned to Steve and Tony. "Let's do our best to stick together in there since it will be too loud to use any means of communication other than shouting into each other's ears. And this is a mission, so we get in, get Maria, and get out. That means not being a playboy, Stark." She looked pointedly at him. "No drinking, either."

"Hey, this is about finding my niece, not my wonderful booze."

"Alright, good. Oh, Steve," He looked at the woman, "it may get overwhelming in there. Just remember to breathe."

Confused, Steve nodded and the doors opened in front of them. As the three entered the large room, all five senses were overwhelmed.

The club was smoky from the fog, making it hazy. The intense strobe lights were not helping either. Steve now understood the warning he'd just been given.

Natasha tried to shout over the music so that Tony and Steve could hear her. "Let's head to the bar and se what information the bartenders have!"

They waded into the throng of sweaty people dancing. The bar was the circular structure raised in the middle, the counters glowed neon. Staying close to the other two proved to be a challenge for Steve. Bodies brushed up against him and he tried to shuffle away only to bump into a grinding couple. The man turned and glared at him so Steve sent an apologetic smile.

This was nothing he had ever experienced before and right now, he hated it.

After what seemed like forever, they reached the bar. They slid up to the counter where it was just recently vacated.

"I'll have a rum and coke." Tony ordered and received a smack on the arm from Natasha. "Ow…"

"Sorry to bother you, but we're looking for someone." She informed the bartender who had been taking Tony's order.

"Well, good luck, I won't be any help." He replied. "I see too many faces everyday."

She quickly pulled out a picture of Marie and slid it across the surface. The bartender picked it up reluctantly and studied it.

"It would help us greatly if you could give us any information. She comes here often."

The man's eyebrows furrowed as he squinted at the photo. "Yes," he said after a minute. "She comes here frequently. But she, usually, is down in the basement."

"And where's that?" Tony asked in anticipation. They had a lead now.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you. Policy, you know?" The man smiled slightly.

Tony quickly pulled out his wallet and handed the bartender a hundred dollar bill.

"You were saying." Natasha asked an elegant eyebrow raised.

"Over there." He pointed to a single door on the wall behind them. Two more, large bouncers stood at either side of the door with their arms crossed.

The three once again made their way through the crowd of dancers. Tony had to pay off the security again and they were let through.

After the door, they quickly descended the stairs. The music faded behind them, replaced by another sound.

Cheering and yelling.

Tony was the first through the last door and took in the large room in front of him. They were on top of a platform with stairs leading down to the right. Down below was a crowd of people, mostly male. In the center was a small fighting rink. Two people could be seen brawling. Tony easily recognized one of the fighters and it made his heart pound in his chest.

One of the fighters was Marie.

-End Chapter-

**There! I hope you liked it!**

**I thought the ending was a little fast but let me know what you think anyways!**

**I am taking down the poll on my profile since her main power has been revealed in this chapter. Thank you to all who voted!**

**AIVAS****: **The **Artificial Intelligence Voice-Address System (AIVAS)**

**I was searching for artificial intelligence computer names and found this one on . It is from the _Dragonriders of Pern_ Series by Anne McCaffrey. I don't own this name, I just thought it would fit nicely into my story, all of AIVAS is owned by Anne McCaffrey.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter and PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Akatsukigurl93**

**Cheers!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello, and welcome to the next chapter! Thank you for all of the lovely reviews that were left for me, thank you.**

**As always, I love reviews and comments!**

**Disclaimer****: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter Three

It was in the rink where Marie felt the most alive nowadays. It was where she went when she was bored, upset, or needing to feel something, anything! But most of the time, she went when she was angry; and the crowd was always in for a treat when she was angry.

When she first came to the fighting arena, she was a nobody, a little girl looking to get a bit of money. Now, however, she was a sight to behold.

But always, she liked to toy with her opponents before actually defeating them.

So, as her foe, a large, muscly man, charged at her once again, she did just that.

Marie redirected his oncoming fist by pushing the arm out by the wrist, thus positioning him off balance. Instead of taking advantage of the wide open hole in his defense to strike, she slapped his cheek and laughed.

"What's the matter, big boy? Can't land a hit?" She baited.

The man said nothing back as he got redder in the face, he came at her again. This time, he got a good hit into her stomach, making her stumble back. She leaned against the side of the rink which was made out of layers of plywood. Once she caught her breath, which didn't take long, she merely smiled giddily, clapping her hands in a mocking applause.

Marie turned her back and took the drink offered by one of the crowd and downed it in one big gulp. The crowd cheered.

'_Mmm, the tail end of a boilermaker.' _She smirked slightly and handed the glass back to its owner.

She turned back around just in time to duck an oncoming fist.

Marie pretended to frown. "You know, it's not nice to attack someone with their back turned, especially a lady."

"Then why is a bitch like you in here? You should be somewhere else, like my bedroom." The man looked her up and down slowly eyeing her black wife-beater that dipped a little low, showing her cleavage. "I wouldn't mind taking you for a ride."

Marie arched an eyebrow.

"Come on, babe, aren't you tired of playing in here when you could be playing with me out there?"

"Actually, I think it's past my bed time so I better finish this up."

The man snickered as Marie dropped down into an actual stance. She stood with her legs apart, knees slightly bent. Her arms were bent also and away from her sides, fists clenched lightly. Her eyes glared down at the man ablaze with fire.

"I'll tell you what, if you win, we'll talk about us playing outside of here. But if I win, you'll be going to the hospital."

The man grinned and threw a hit at Marie's face. She caught his wrist again and dragged his arm to the left with her left hand. Then, she mercilessly brought down her right elbow onto his, breaking his arm with an audible crack.

Not giving the guy time to recover, or even make a sound, she ducked under the now broken arm, stepping into the defensive zone of her challenger. She was so close that if he tried to punch her, there wouldn't be enough force behind it to cause any significant damage.

Marie let her restraints go then and relentlessly attacked the core of the body. She drove her left elbow into the upper thigh of the guy, rendering him immobile. She added many hard jabs to the ribs with the sides of her fists and elbows, breaking and cracking them. She hurled a punch with her left hand into the jaw and sent the man tumbling back. Lastly, she delivered a heel kick to the middle of his chest.

The man fell, crashing back through the gate where the fighters entered. He hit the ground with a thud and lay there, unmoving.

It was silent when Marie relaxed and walked out of the rink. She went to the bookmaker and opened the front of his suit, plucking the wad of cash from his right pocket: her winnings.

"You should probably get him to the hospital." She said absently and ascended the stairs behind the bar, intending to grab her helmet and jacket to go home.

Unknown to her, the three on the other side of the large room watched her go up the stairs.

"Whoa," Steve commented. He'd never seen a woman do that before, not even Natasha.

Tony, on the other hand, was speechless. "Where the _hell _did she learn how to do _that_?!"

"Come on." Natasha urged, leading the way down the steps.

They pushed their way through the crowd who were watching the next match.

Up behind the bar was a small storage room where the bartender, Bud, kept the kegs of beer and other alcohol. There was also a rickety bed, a folding chair and a mall table. Bud had let Marie stay the nights where she was too intoxicated to drive home on her motorcycle and she owed him.

Tonight, luckily, was not one of those nights. Marie grabbed her leather jacket and shrugged it on. The bulge of her money in her back pocket made her grin with satisfaction. She could finally buy more parts for AIVAS.

She suddenly got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach when she picked up her helmet. Something was coming. That feeling escalated when pounding footsteps started coming up the stairs behind the door. There were three pairs.

Not wanting to see who it was and not wasting anytime, she hurried out the back door that led out to the alley. She hid behind a dumpster towards the road. There, she could hear voices through the door she just came through.

"She's not here!" A man's voice yelled desperately. "She must've gone through that door."

"Wait-!" A woman's voice called.

The door banged open and Marie could hear heavy footsteps running down the alley.

Three…two…one…

Marie struck. Her grip on her helmet tightened as she swung it at the man's faced as he passed her hiding place. The man fell onto the ground and lay still after it hit him in the jaw.

She stepped out from her spot and took an aggressive posture, facing the other two who were following behind.

One was a woman; she had full lips and red hair. She was probably flexible and acrobatic, Marie observed, because she was slim and lithe. The other was a tall, blonde man. He was strong, she could tell from the solid air that was around him. Other than those few, helpful points, she couldn't tell who they were because of the darkness in the alley. It was late at night after all.

She couldn't take them down without getting some sort of injuries, she decided.

"What do you want?" Marie growled.

"Maria Haley Stark?" The woman asked, putting her hand up showing she meant no harm.

The man relaxed too, but Marie didn't drop her position.

"Yeah?" She answered, unsure if she should have lied instead.

"Look who you just knocked out." The woman pointed to the man on the ground.

Marie looked down to the side slowly, her guard still very high.

The man on the alley floor was one she recognized easily. It was her uncle, and he was out cold with a growing bruise on the side of his jaw.

"Oh my God!" Marie exclaimed horrified. She totally forgot Steve and Natasha and knelt beside Tony. She shook him by the shoulders. "Tony!" She called.

He grunted which was a good sign. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the two behind her.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Natasha Romanoff. I am an agent of SHIELD."

That name sounded familiar. Suddenly, it all clicked. The files she downloaded, the recruitment folder. This was her being brought in. She started rattling off information.

"You're also known as 'Black Widow,' am I correct?" Natasha's eyebrows rose in surprise. Marie turned to Steve. "And you're Steve Rogers, Captain America. As to why you're here at this moment, I'm guessing you are here to recruit me into this so called government agency."

"How do you know this information?" Natasha asked suspiciously.

"That is my own dirty, little secret." Marie smirked.

They were interrupted when Tony groaned.

"We should get him back to your house." Natasha said after a roll of her eyes.

Marie nodded and pushed her uncle up into a sitting position, his head lulled forward. Steve immediately went to her aide and put one of Tony's arms over his shoulders. She got on the other side and they stood up together. They dragged Tony; he still wasn't aware of his surrounding and couldn't help, out of the alley way and down the road to the Audi. Natasha carried Marie's helmet.

Once at the car, they put Tony in the back seat. Natasha motioned Marie to get in after.

"What about my bike? I'm not going anywhere without it." Marie crossed her arms stubbornly.

"How do I know you won't run off?" Natasha asked as her eyes narrowed.

"You don't." She answered flashing her teeth in a smile.

Natasha opened her mouth to order Marie to get into the car when Steve stepped in.

"I'll go with you, ma'am, so we don't have any trouble."

Marie relented quickly, Tony direly needed an icepack. "Fine, but don't call me 'ma'am,' it pisses me off."

Steve shifted uncomfortably on his feet and nodded.

Natasha got into the car and drove off as Marie started to lead Steve a block over to her bike. They fell into step side by side.

Marie didn't offer any conversation and so Steve took this moment to observe this girl out of the corner of his eye.

Her height was average, although compared to his large frame she only came up to his shoulder. She was slim but solid. Her body resembled much like Natasha's: lean and deadly. He couldn't see how much strength and force could be in this small body but what he saw in the fighting rink begged to differ. She could kill at any moment, even though he thought she had never taken a life before, there was still innocence that shined in her eyes.

At the moment, Marie's brows were furrowed with worry, probably thinking about Tony and her recruitment to SHIELD. Steve decided that that look did not suite her. Her nose was average and her lips were nothing special, 'normal' is what they would be called. However, her eyes were what made her face. They were slightly wide-set and large. They were also the most brilliant shade of green he had ever seen. There was a small scar above her left eye, going through the eyebrow; only an artist's eyes would notice it.

It was then that Steve realized he wanted to draw her. In the past few months he had only drawn scribbles and nothing special. But now, his hands itched for a pencil and a piece of paper.

Marie, unaware of Steve's thoughts about her, had finally finished thinking about what she will say to Tony. She had come up with nothing, unfortunately. Her ideas had ranged from acting like a mature adult to a five year old where she would throw herself at him, crying her eyes out.

Ashe she came out of deep thought, she became more and more aware of Steve glancing at her frequently out of the corner of his eyes. It was annoying and slightly unnerving.

Marie crossed her arms across her chest, her helmet still in one hand.

They were almost to her bike when she sent him a heated glare after the annoyance had reached its peak. His eyes widened comically and he stared ahead for the rest of the walk.

The air was tense.

They finally reached the motorcycle and Steve raised an eyebrow. It wasn't anything like his which was restored from an original motorcycle used in World War II.

Marie's was bright red and screamed the word 'speed.' The words 'Ninja' and 'Kawasaki' were printed in black on the side.

Marie put her helmet on and slid onto the bike. "Get on." She ordered and he clambered on behind her. She started but the bike.

"You're going to want to hold on." She smirked under the visor as she saw Steve, who didn't have a helmet, widen he eyes before wrapping his arms around her waist.

Marie pulled away from the curb and sped out of downtown. She hadn't expected Steve to hold onto _her_ but she couldn't complain. There wasn't much to hold onto besides her body. His grip tightened slightly as she took a corner fast and accelerated. It was then she realized, from what she knew about him, Captain America had probably never been on one of these style bikes before.

The annoyance she felt towards him earlier had simmered down into nervousness. How will she react when she sees Tony at the house? And what about her mom?

One thing was for certain though, her anger from previously was still very much there.

-End Chapter-

**It's too short! I know that is what you guys are thinking…I feel the same but I felt like this was the perfect place to end it. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update too!**

**NOTES:**

**The fighting style for Marie is actually called the Keysi Fighting Method and is used in the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. It is a very emotional fighting method and very violent. I am doing my best to describe it but it is hard.**

**If you guys want to learn more about this fighting style, go to YouTube and search:**

"**Keysi Fighting Method Batman Begins"**

**And look at the videos. I used the one from the Batman Begins DVD extra where they broke it down into slow motion. Those moves in the slow motion were the exact moves that Marie used in this chapter.**

**I DON'T OWN THIS FIGHTING STYLE!**

**ATTENTION:**

**I have a confession to make…I have a problem…and that is that I can't finish a story without another one popping into my head. Right now, I have a Sherlock Holmes story that I simply must get down on paper. I need help.**

**A GREAT WAY FOR YOU GUYS TO HELP ME UPDATE THIS STORY IS LEAVING REVIEWS FOR ME! I LOVE THEM!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Akatsukigurl93**

**Cheers!**


	5. Chapter 4

**HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER! Thank you for all the reviews, you guys are the best!**

**I would love to thank all who contacted me a while ago when I asked for help. I would also like to give a huge thank you to Annabeth Black who has helped me develop my story even more.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter Four

Marie stared at her front door from her spot under the oak tree in the front yard. Steve had gone in a couple minutes before to inform everyone inside she needed some air. It was a very poor excuse to avoid the two inevitable confrontations that were bound to happen.

She had come up with nothing to say to Tony, absolutely nothing. She felt as though she should apologize for not believing him, but the rational part of her mind told her how could she when she was only nine years old? The idea that her own mother had let her grandfather inject some kind of experimental fluid into her womb while she was pregnant was crazy!

The slightest thought of her mother brought Marie's blood to a boil. Mothers were supposed to protect their children, not put them into any dangerous situation! And having an experiment like that done to her before she was even born made her stomach sick. Marie didn't go inside because she was scared of what she would do to her mom, whether it was scream at her or snap and do something worse.

A door opening in front of Marie caught her attention. She looked up to see Tony shutting the door behind him. In his hand was an icepack.

He came over and sat down beside her. There, they sat quietly for a few minutes; neither knew exactly what to say.

Tony interrupted the silence, trying to break the ice.

"You remember Rhodey, right?" he asked looking over at her.

"Your friend from the Air Force? Yeah, I remember him slightly." A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered one of her few visits to Tony's house in Malibu, California. "I remember you two bickering all the time."

Tony returned the smile, "He would get a kick out of this if he saw me right now." He waved the icepack around slightly.

Marie chuckled, Tony Stark with an icepack, that was funny.

Uneasy companionable silence settled between them again. Tony, after fidgeting for a few moments stood up and crossed his arms, moving to stand in front of his niece.

"Where _did _you learn how to fight like that?" He asked almost accusingly, head cocked to one side.

"You saw?"

He nodded.

Marie stared at him for a moment. Tony could see her mind working in her eyes, they were darting from somewhere behind him to his face and back. This made him uneasy about her answer, what was she hiding?

Finally, Marie evaded the question. "I don't think you're in a place to be asking anything."

"Well, _I _don't think you're in any position to be keeping any secrets," he counted with a tiny smug smile.

She scoffed at him and picked up a twig. She flicked it a couple feet away and sighed.

"You never came back. I thought you would," she said solemnly, not looking at her uncle. "Why didn't you?"

Tony shifted from one foot to the other and put his hands in his pants pockets, clearly uncomfortable. He refused to look anywhere near Marie, instead looking at a hedge across the street behind her.

Marie was about to press further when the front door opened once again. Agent Romanoff stepped out. She looked between the uncle and niece, noticing the discomfort in the air.

"Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, but we need to discuss why we came here. So, if you both would come join us inside, we can get started."

Tony went in barely sparing Marie a glance as he passed. Marie rolled her eyes, he was being childish and it was hardly surprising.

Marie entered through the front door and shut it behind her. She followed Natasha into the living room where she sat on the futon chair. Natasha stood off to the side near the fireplace, Steve and her mother were on one of the two sofas, and Tony stood looking out the window. He ignored everyone in the room.

"Maria Stark," the red head started, "we are here on behalf of Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, in short, SHIELD. We have come to offer you a position in our ranks, but you already knew that."

"I do." Marie stated back calmly.

Her mother looked at her curiously while Tony watched intently out of the corner of his eyes.

"You said in the alley that you knew why we were here and who we were; how did you know?" Natasha asked.

Marie smiled sweetly, "I already told you."

"Now is not the time to play smart," growled Natasha as she glared at the younger woman. She was so much like her uncle. "At 10:00 PM last night, our operatives discovered a virus in our system. It had targeted _The Avengers Initiative _files and had succeeded in retrieving them. We got a lock on the signal and tracked it back to this area. We suspect it was you."

There was a heavy pause where everyone stared at Marie before she snickered.

"All I wanted was to find out what my Uncle Tony was doing and since his security is more advanced than SHIELD's, I chose the lesser of two evils. Obviously, I found out more than I wanted to. And I underestimated your system's antivirus."

"You did what?!" Joan shrieked.

Marie and Tony winced, both knowing that high-pitched tone all too well.

"Mom, please, I don't think this is the best time for a family fight."

"Too bad, you're going to get one. I will not have you living under this roof while you hack into government agencies! What's next, Marie? The CIA?!"

Marie opened her mouth to snap back at her mother but Natasha interrupted before she could get a single word out.

"I'm afraid this discussion will have to take place at a later time because your daughter has to come with us, Ma'am."

"Excuse me?" Marie must have misheard the agent.

"You hacked into our systems, Stark, you know too much, and we need to know how you got past our firewall."

"What if I don't want to?" The youngest Stark crossed her arms.

"You don't have a choice."

"What do you mean, 'she doesn't have a choice?!'" Tony whipped around, looking furious. "Can't you just swear her to secrecy and take the files she stole?"

"The Director doesn't see it that way, Stark." Natasha replied evenly. "She not only put herself into this position, she might also be a valuable member. We came here to give her an open invitation anyways. She might have skills of some value to us."

Marie's breath seeped out of her as she looked between her uncle and the SHIELD agent. The overwhelming urge to bolt came over her as claustrophobia started to set in.

"You can't just barge into other people's lives and take them from their homes!" Tony yelled angrily.

"Stark, calm down." Steve stood up between the two as the tension in the atmosphere of the room rose.

"Shut up, Old Man!" Tony said not joking for once.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, resisting the retort from escaping his mouth.

"She would have had a choice if she hadn't hacked into our network! Maybe if you hadn't left her alone for all these years, this wouldn't have happened." Natasha fired back.

"Don't you _dare _bring that up. You know _nothing_ about our family," Tony hissed.

Marie's fists tightened as she swallowed. She glanced at her mother who had an expression of horror on her face. Steve looked ready to restrain either Tony or Natasha. Natasha was watching Tony's every move.

Marie risked taking a glance at her uncle. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest as he glared at Agent Romanoff.

She was definitely in some deep trouble.

Taking a deep breath, she stood. "I'm going to go pack." Marie quickly left the room.

"God damn it," Marie heard Tony swear behind her.

Entering her room, she could still hear raised voices from downstairs. She did her best to ignore them. She dug deep into her cramped closet and pulled out a suitcase and two large duffel bags.

"May I be of any assistance, ma'am?" AIVAS asked.

"Could you start loading all of the files on the computer onto the removable drivers?"

"Including the 'Porn' folder?"

Marie blanched before quickly remembering that that folder held the downloaded Avengers profiles. "Yes, including that folder."

Marie threw the bags on her bed and started throwing all of her clothes and shoes into them, not being organized in the slightest.

About fifteen minutes later, the voices downstairs had ceased for the most part except for the sound of her mother crying. Marie ignored that, too.

Her cell phone started vibrating on her bedside table as she was struggling to zip up one of the duffel bags.

"AIVAS, who is it?"

"It is a number I do not recognize, shall I ignore it?"

"No, I'll take it."

She grabbed her wireless earpiece off of her desk. She put it in her ear and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

She was met with silence, Marie snorted slightly. If this was a prank call, they were doing a pretty bad job scaring her. They didn't even make the caller ID restricted, although, the phone number was exceedingly long, it must be from someone out of the country. She was about to hang up when a voice spoke through the line.

"Maria Haley Stark." A male voice said.

She bit her lip lightly, something wasn't right about this.

"Who is this?" She asked but the man ignored her request.

"You have made a very bad mistake contacting the Avengers."

She stopped breathing as goose-bumps appeared on her skin. Who was this man? And how could he possibly know about the Avengers coming to take her in? It only happened twenty minutes ago! Marie's eyes darted to her windows, they were shut and the curtains were pulled. She immediately pressed the mute button.

"AIVAS, track the call and record it."

"Yes, ma'am.

Marie unmuted the call for the man hadn't said anything else. He obviously wanted a conversation.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere, Maria, I know more than you." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Then why is it a mistake?"

"Because it made it a lot easier for us to track you."

"You don't know where I'm going."

"SHIELD has many spies and traitors in their ranks. You'll just have to learn that whatever you do, I will know about it very soon."

Marie's chills got colder. "What do you want with me?"

"You will find out soon, but until then, I will give you a hint: It is in your blood."

The line went dead, but not before she heard the cruel laughter of the man on the other end. After, she sat on the bed, hands clenched together, just breathing. She hadn't felt fear like this before. As she felt some warmth return to her and a bit of the fear recede, she yanked her wireless out of her ear and tossed it onto her desk. Looking at one of the five monitors, she saw the red letters spelling 'FAILED' flashing across the screen. The trace didn't complete but it indicated that the call was made somewhere in Asia.

"Ma'am, may I suggest you continue packing?" AIVAS asked seemingly hesitant. It was as if she knew Marie needed something to distract herself from that phone call.

Marie nodded and went back to struggling with the zipper on one of the duffel bags.

After two more minutes of scrunching the two sides together, trying to pull the zipper closed, and failing, she gave a little screech of frustration. She picked up the large duffel bag over her head with no effort, fully planning on throwing it violently back into her closet.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down there!" A voice exclaimed from the door.

Marie turned, bag still over her small frame, and saw Steve standing in the doorway of her room. She glanced between her bag and the super soldier quickly before setting it down on the floor.

"What are you doing here?" She tried not to sound too hostile, but the tone of her voice was still less than welcoming.

Despite that, Steve stepped further into her room. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Well, Agent Romanoff is making a phone call, Tony is talking with your mother, so I figured I'd come see how your packing was going," he replied looking anywhere but her face.

Marie leveled her gaze with his. "Don't lie, Rogers, Romanoff probably told you to come make sure I didn't take off or something."

Steve looked away again and shifted from one foot to the other. "How did you know I wasn't telling the truth?"

"Easy, you're a terrible liar." Marie laughed. "Since you're here, you can help me zip up my bags before I throw them through a wall."

Steve's lips twitched in a smile as he walked over to help.

Five minutes later, the two were lugging the bags down the stairs noisily. AIVAS had been loaded onto Marie's phone and backed up on a special chip. The computer up in her bedroom now sat empty.

Upon entering the living room, Marie saw Tony and her mother sitting on the couch. Her uncle got up sadly and held out his hand for the bag his niece was carrying.

"It's time to say good-bye, Marie."

She nodded, and Tony and Steve left through the front door with her luggage.

Marie went over and sat on the couch not too far away from Joan but still far enough to have some space between them.

"Did you patch things up with Uncle Tony?"

Joan smiled through some stray tears. "Somewhat."

"Good, I guess." Marie showed her anger as she glared at the fading green carpet.

"Honey, I'm so sorry I never told you."

"Why did you do it?"

"What?" Her mother stuttered out.

"I want to know what made you think it was okay to let your father inject your pregnant stomach with some mystery liquid with unknown affects."

Joan sighed. "I don't know what made me think it was okay. It was a difficult time, your father had just passed away and I was depressed. Your grandfather and I were talking about what he was working on and his version of the Super Soldier Serum came up. He said he had no volunteers or women who were pregnant and were willing to do it. So, I offered myself. He said no, but I—but I insisted." She sniffed loudly as more tears leaked out of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Maria. I regret this so much."

"I don't know if I can ever forgive you, Mom, but when my anger dwindles down over time, perhaps we can work on rebuilding our relationship again." Marie stated this calmly before reaching across the small gap between her and Joan to squeeze her mother's hand.

After a few seconds, Marie released it and left the house looking back only when closing the front door.

"Ready?" Tony asked as Marie approached the car. Natasha and Steve waited beside him.

Marie nodded and her uncle gave her a one armed hug for support. No other sympathy was given and the four got into the car. The car ride to the airport was slower than the ride from; everyone was lost in their own thoughts.

The phone call from earlier was momentarily forgotten.

-End Chapter-

**As always, I love reviews!**

**Until Next Time,  
Hope's Survival**

**Cheers!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**Special thank you to my lovely (as always) beta reader, Annabeth Black**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter Five

The morning sun shone brightly through the airplane window, successfully waking Marie. The red eye flight from Washington State to New York City had been tense but thankfully uneventful so far. She had fallen asleep two hours or so into the flight. Before then, the airplane cabin had been mostly silent, save for Tony's fidgeting and constantly moving around.

To be truthful, Marie was worried about her uncle. He kept getting up and leaving the cabin to go to the kitchen on board the plane to get a drink or food. He paced up and down the wide aisle until Natasha told him he was annoying her and to sit down. He had replied swiftly with a hostile glare and kept pacing. He had finally sat down after another twenty minutes. From his seat, he had messed around on his phone, attempted to read some notes on a tablet, tapped his foot, created a beat with his hand on his legs, straightened his tie numerous times, and even went as far as playing with the window shutter opening and closing it repeatedly.

Now, Marie looked over at her uncle and saw that he was dozing in his seat. She smiled slightly.

The feeling of having to go to the bathroom suddenly became apparent and she reached for her seatbelt buckle. Her arms brushed cloth and she glanced down to find a fleece blanket had been laid over her to keep her from getting cold. She removed it as she stood up.

_Who had covered her?_

Steve was asleep in his seat as she passed by quietly, but, unsurprisingly, Agent Romanoff was awake. She was staring out of her window, her book on her lap.

Her voice startled Marie as she headed by to the bathroom.

"Tony put the blanket on you after I told him to stop glancing from you to the window. I think he was worried about you getting cold."

Marie turned back to Natasha, "Thanks for telling me, I thought he had been ignoring me this whole flight."

The red head nodded and picked up her book.

Marie continued to the bathroom. When she returned, the seatbelt sign was on, signaling their final descent into New York City.

Instead of returning to her seat, she sat down in the one across from Tony. He was awake but looked exhausted.

"Hey, Sport," he greeted.

Marie wrinkled her nose, the first words since getting on the airplane had to be _that_?

"Don't call me that," she said smartly.

Her uncle smirked.

"How long did you sleep?" She asked.

"Long enough to not do anything too stupid."

His niece rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll drink some fuel."

"I hope you mean coffee and not gasoline," Marie joked.

The plane touched down a few minutes later. The four exited the aircraft down the stairs, and at the bottom were Marie's bags. She picked up one of them and followed Natasha across the tarmac to a waiting quinjet. They boarded, followed by Tony and Steve, who had the other bags.

Marie sat beside Tony on the short and once again boring ride to SHIELD's current base not far from the coast of Long Island. Still tired, Marie leaned her head back and closed her eyes, willing herself to doze. She was about to drift off when the tingling sensation of someone watching her woke her up. Keeping her eyes closed, she waited for it to go away. It didn't. She opened her eyes and glanced around the plane until she saw the culprit. Steve, once again, was glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes. He was sitting across from her diagonally and had a small pad of paper and pencil on his loosely crossed legs.

Keeping her eyes mostly closed, Marie observed him. He kept looking from her to the pad of paper. His pencil obviously wasn't writing because of its movements.

_Was-was he drawing her?_

She was annoyed again. What was with him? Marie sat there for another two minutes, trying to put up with Steve until it drove her mad. She opened her eyes and stared at him until the next time he looked up, practically scaring the life out of him. From then on, he didn't look at her, just continued drawing without glancing at her. A faint blush stained his cheeks and Marie smirked, satisfied she could doze in peace.

Soon, the quinjet landed on the helicarrier and they exited the jet.

"Leave your bags, Ms. Stark, some agents will take care of them," Natasha notified.

Marie nodded and busied herself with looking around the large headquarters in awe. The helicarrier was in the air although not high enough so that she needed an air mask to breathe. She had seen this structure on the news when it was under attack. The news crews had spotted in over New York soon after it had lost its invisibility, and it was the number one story on the news followed by the alien attack after.

"I did the same thing when I was first brought aboard," Steve commented standing beside her.

Marie offered him a nod, not looking up at him. She was still irritated with him.

Out of the blue, an agent approached the group. "You have a meeting with Director Fury in ten minutes in meeting room twelve."

"Thank you, Agent Atkins." Natasha acknowledged the lower-in-rank agent and dismissed him.

Marie looked at Tony, whose lips had formed a thin line, but he quickly smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's go see what Old Saint Nick wants, Kiddo."

Marie made a disgusted noise from the back of her throat. "Don't call me that either."

Tony chuckled as they entered the helicarrier and walked down the hall. They had passed many agents and other personnel by the time they reached meeting room twelve.

They were not the first to arrive as two other men were present. One with the glasses and slightly greying hair, sat at the large round table. His thumbs were twirling around each other as he glanced nervously at the new arrivals.

The other, tall with brownish-blonde hair, stood with his back to her and was looking out the large window in the back of the room.

If she remembered correctly, the files she had studied indicated that the man sitting at the table was Dr. Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk. And the man over at the window was Agent Clint Barton, or as the public knew him, Hawkeye.

Natasha headed directly over to Barton and the two started to converse in hushed tones. They both looked over at Marie and the master archer gave her a once over, assessing her. She suddenly felt very small compared to the people in the room with her.

Marie busied herself by regarding the others in the room.

Steve had sat down with a book in front of him. At a closer examination of what she could see from the cover, she discovered it was _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_. Marie tried to hide her smile when she noticed his intense staring at the pages, seemingly reading as fast as he could. Unbeknownst to Marie, Steve had a thirst to learn about the modern media and what interested people of the 21st century.

"Marie, come over here, I want you to meet someone." Tony called her over.

She left her spot near the door and walked past Steve, unaware of his gaze following her.

The person her uncle wanted her to meet was a very uncomfortable looking Bruce Banner.

"Bruce, this is my lovely niece, Marie," Tony introduced. "Marie, this is my…awkward friend, Bruce."

Bruce sent Tony a miniscule look before shaking Marie's outstretched hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Banner."

"You, too, Ms. Stark."

They released hands and the two scientists, more so Tony, struck up a conversation.

Marie felt insignificant again compared to her company.

A throat clearing behind her made her turn around. Steve had put his book down and was looking at her, wanting to ask a question.

"Yes?" Marie prompted when he didn't say anything and hesitated.

"Have you read the Harry Potter series by any chance?" Steve asked.

"Of course," Marie walked over and sat down in the chair beside the super soldier, "I love Harry Potter."

Steve smiled, thankful she was being civil after what happened on the quinjet. "I'm a little confused about the Marauder's Map and Draco Malfoy not being able to be spotted on it."

"DO you remember the map from the third book?"

"Yeah, it shows where everyone is in Hogwarts. But, what I don't understand is why Harry can't see Malfoy on the map."

"Let's see here, you are reading the sixth book," Marie thought aloud looking up to the ceiling trying to recall the storyline.

Harry couldn't see Malfoy because the Room of Requirement didn't show up on the map!

Her lips grew into a devious smile, knowing what she was about to say wasn't going to be to Steve's liking. "Keep reading, you'll find out later in the book."

She grinned coyly as he continued to stare at her.

Suddenly, the door opened revealing Director Fury and his second in command, Agent Hill. The Director's tall frame demanded everyone's attention and they took their seats. Tony, however, shot a glare at the man before taking his pace between Marie and Bruce.

"I see you three were successful in retrieving her," Fury observed, his eyes wondering from Natasha to Steve to Tony.

Marie already didn't like this guy; he was talking about her as if she wasn't even in the room.

"Ms. Stark, thank you for coming," Fury greeted the youngest Stark.

All of the anger came rushing back, reminding her she didn't really have a say in coming here.

"Did I really have a choice?" She returned, fighting to keep the bite out of her tone.

"Not really with your recent actions." The Director responded casually as if he got this question a lot. "Do you know why I brought you in?"

The thoughts of putting in an effort to be polite and somewhat appropriate flew out of the window as he spoke.

"I managed to hack into your data base, oops," she said, rolling her eyes. Marie heard Tony chuckle quietly from beside her.

"Excuse me, you aren't in a position to be a smartass," Fury glared at her. "You got past our firewall faster than your uncle. I want to know what system you used and where our holes are."

"Fat chance of that happening." There was no way they were going to look at AIVAS, she said adamantly to herself.

"Ms. Stark, if you would please-"

"Why am I really here?" Marie interrupted, "I know you didn't just bring me here for shits and giggles."

The tension in the room skyrocketed and she could feel a few of the Avengers shift in their seats. They looked from Marie to Fury, unused to having the Director challenged in this way. It was more directly aggressive than Tony.

Marie ignored the others, not caring what they thought about her attitude. She deserved to know why she was really here, even if she already saw the recruitment folder when she hacked into SHIELD. Marie wanted to hear Fury say it.

He leveled his gaze with the young Stark, his one eye challenging both of hers. Marie glared back.

"_Since_ you got into our main server, and viewed the Avengers' Initiative, including the future members data, I assume you already know." Fury's voice returned to the 'in charge' tone it had before.

"Then you assume correctly."

"Ms. Stark, you are a part of the Avengers' Initiative now. Hacking into our systems only took away your choice to say 'yes' or 'no.'"

"Do you really do this to people?" Marie asked eyes narrowing into slits. "To take people away from their homes, their lives, without them having any decision about it?!"

"Only when deemed necessary," the Director responded evenly.

"And if I refuse?"

"You will be prosecuted for espionage against a government agency."

"Now, wait a minute," Tony stood, "you can't do that!"

"Both of you are forgetting who's in charge here."

The two Starks opened their mouths to loudly disagree, but Fury continued.

"Stark, you don't seem to understand that you're niece hacked into our systems. We can put her away _for thirty years_, but, I am offering her a choice: join the Avengers' Initiative and we will forget about her actions. Besides," He said, pausing eloquently, "I think she's got more to her than that."

Marie opened her mouth to keep arguing but Tony didn't let her get a single word out.

"Accept the offer," he told her not breaking eye contact with Fury.

Marie looked at him, shocked. "What?"

"I said accept it, there is nothing we can do right now."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, no words formed. The other Avengers, as well as Fury, waited for her.

How could Tony just give up like this?

"Marie, you have to say something," Tony pressed his bewildered niece.

She swallowed thickly, "I accept your proposal."

"You've made the wise choice," Fury replied cynically complimenting her, "Your training starts tomorrow and the schedule will be sent to you by tonight. This meeting is complete." He left followed closely by Agent Hill.

The others left without a lot to say until it was just the two Starks left.

"Why did you make me accept?!" Marie snarled as she rounded on Tony.

"Why did _you _have to break into their systems?!" He replied angrily, "There is nothing I can do in this situation!"

"Why not?!"

"Because they have solid evidence against you! I can't do anything because of that. You will go to prison even if we fight and make a good argument."

"Since when do you just give up?!" Marie shouted.

"You don't have a choice, Marie, both of our backs are against the wall, yours more so than mine," Tony bit out, "You cannot do anything against this and this is your fault."

Marie stared at her uncle, not wanting to believe what he just said. What had she gotten herself into?

She stormed out of Meeting Room Twelve, and Tony didn't call her back.

She took to wandering the halls since she had no idea what to do or where anything was. She had to cool off.

Marie passed by many SHIELD agents again. No one spared her a smile or a glance.

_Some welcoming place this is. _She thought sourly.

After a while she came across a room that wasn't as cold and plain looking as the rest of the helicarrier. It was, however, very out of place. Inside it was carpeted, had couches, and a rather large TV on the wall. One wall was made out of glass, letting in sunlight. The back wall was made into bookshelves that held books as well as many DVDs.

Right now, the TV was on but the screen was black. That was when she heard someone swear a mild curse from in front of the couch.

Marie walked further into the room ad spotted Steve kneeling by the many satellite boxes. He as staring at them with his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Does he not know how to turn on the boxes?

"Would you like some help?" She asked making herself known.

Steve jumped and looked back at her. "Oh, uh, I was just trying to get the TV to show a picture on it, I just have no idea what button to push."

"Let me help," Marie offered and knelt next to the Captain.

"I can get the TV and the cable on in my apartment just fine, but I always get confused here. There are too many remotes," He laughed rubbing the back of his head.

"I can understand that," She agreed as she pressed the power button on one of the satellite boxes.

The TV remained blank so Marie flicked the rest of the boxes on. Still nothing.

"Must be the input," She thought aloud and went over to the coffee table. She picked up the remote for the TV and changed the input. After a few tries, a picture finally appeared on the television.

"I'll have to remember that next time," Steve smiled and thanked her.

"What did you want to watch?"

"I was hoping for some baseball," He replied.

Marie hummed and flipped through a couple channels. She stopped at the first ball game she found and recognized the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. She wasn't too interested in the sport so she didn't care about either team but, Steve wanted to watch it.

"Do you have a favorite team?" She asked.

"I was a big fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but I heard they moved," he said revealing something about himself.

What he said reminded Marie that he had been frozen in ice for over sixty years. "Yeah, they moved to LA. Look," She pointed to the TV, "They're playing now."

The two stood watching the game and the atmosphere of the room grew awkward. Steve shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"Would you like to sit and watch the game for a bit?" He had never been good at talking to women; Peggy, the woman he loved, was the first to have an actual conversation. He kept his eyes on the game, unable to look at Marie to see her reaction.

Although she hadn't forgotten the staring and the drawing on the quinjet, Marie reminded herself it wasn't a bad idea to get to know her fellow Avengers.

"Sure."

They sat on the couch at opposite ends.

Neither spoke at first, but the silence had lost some of its tension. Soon, Marie started asking Steve questions about the rules of baseball and he happily answered. The words spoken flowed smoothly between them as time started to tick by.

-End Chapter-

**Personally, I loved this chapter, Steve is so cute!**

**Like I've said in all of my author's notes, PLEASE REVIEW! It means the world to me!**

**Until Next Time,**

**Hope's Survival**

**Cheers!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Special thanks to my beta, Annabeth Black, and to all who reviewed! I am feeling a little unloved because I didn't get too many comments on the last chapter, did you guys not like it? Is everyone mostly in character? Let me know!**

**Here is the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC, Maria Haley Stark, and any other character you guys don't recognize.**

You Have to Fall to Rise:

Chapter Six

The baseball game had just ended when the sun started to sink below the horizon. After Steve had taught Marie the rules of the game, silence had hung over the room. There was, once again, tension between them because of the earlier interactions on the quinjet. However, neither tried to make the silence more comfortable.

Marie stood up and stretched, Steve remained on the couch watching the commercials. A presence behind them caught their attention.

A SHIELD Agent stood behind the couch holding two pieces of paper.

"Your schedules, Captain Rogers, Miss Stark," He greeted and handed them the papers. He left without another word.

Marie shoved her schedule into her back pocket, not bothering to see what the next day's training entailed. She did see her room number, 515, as well as an access code on top of the page. She will remember to look at it later.

She turned to Steve, who was reading over his, and decided it was time to leave the room. She needed to unpack.

It was then, she realized, she had absolutely no idea where her room was located. As much as she hated the idea, she had to ask someone for directions and Steve was the only one around at the moment. She sighed heavily, wanting to be alone. Where was Tony when she needed him?

"Do you know where room 515 is?" Marie asked.

"Its next to mine and across from Tony's," Steve didn't look up from reading.

Marie almost growled at the answer she got. It didn't help her at all!

"And where is that?" She asked slowly, trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone and be polite.

"It's, uh…" Steve paused as he tried to figure out how to give simple directions. Of course, there were none that could be simple on a SHIELD's helicarrier. It was basically a maze. "It's too hard to explain, I'll take you."

Marie turned so that he couldn't see her roll her eyes. She left the room, not waiting for the Captain.

He easily caught up to her and, like before, not much was said besides the occasional "right" here and a "left" there.

After an agonizing five minutes of walking and two awkward elevator rides, Marie was grinding her teeth. How big was this stupid airship?!

Steve was looking at her again, too, out of the corner of his eyes which added to her frustration.

"What?" She snapped at him.

He jumped and looked away, "Uhm…"

This time, Marie let him see her roll her eyes. "Spit it out, Rogers."

"Why do you go to a fighting pit?"

Marie stopped walking for a brief second before resuming their moderate pace. This was not something she wanted to talk about.

"Why do you ask?"

Steve replied surprisingly easily. "It's not where we expected to find you."

"Did you expect me to be in a flower shop?"

"No!" Steve denied nervously, "I was just surprised to see you in the rink."

"Where did you think I'd be? Serving beer to rowdy and smelly men?" Marie raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"No! I…" He was interrupted.

"What _were _you surprised about then?"

"I just didn't expect a girl as small as you could fight like that." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted saying them. He paled and blushed at the same time, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

Marie glared at him, mouth open slightly. They had stopped walking and were now facing each other in front of room 515.

"Where did you learn how to fight like that?" Steve broke the suffocating silence.

Marie glared at him, "That is a story for another time."

She turned around, submitted her access code on the keypad next to her door, and entered her room behind her. Without another word, she shut the door in Steve's face, leaving him in the hall.

Marie sighed and concentrated on relaxing. She didn't like talking about the fighting rink. It brought back memories about how she learned how to fight. The rink was just a way to earn money and to expel her anger. Still, thinking about the fighting pit caused sad and happy thoughts to cross her mind.

_Seventeen-year-old Marie stood outside of the Antiquity Martial Arts supplies shop and dojo. She sported a black eye and a split lip as well as bruised knuckles and scrapes. _The Main Event's _underground fighting pit was the only way to make a large sum of money fast. She was working on an Artificial Intelligence Computer and she needed cash desperately for new parts._

_The night before was her third attempt to beat someone and win the prize._

_She had failed miserably._

_Her mother was out of town conveniently with friends for two weeks. She didn't know what Marie as up to and the youngest Stark planned to keep it that way._

_She entered the martial arts store to buy tape for her knuckles. Whenever she went to punch someone now, he fists were injured more, making her grit her teeth in pain._

_Marie smiled at the old Chinese man behind the counter and was returned with a polite one of his own._

"_May I help you find something?" He asked in an accent. His English wasn't hindered and she could tell the old man had been in the United States for some time._

"_Could you just point me in the direction of your medical tape?" She asked._

_The old man took in her face. Although she had done a fine job in applying makeup to hide her injuries, it felt like he could see right through the mask._

_Marie shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably under the store keeper's measured gaze. Fortunately, he didn't comment._

"_It is on the back wall," He pointed in the direction._

_Marie murmured a small 'thank you' and proceeded to the back of the store._

_When she arrived, she noticed there were many types of tapes, some more solid and thicker than others, each were made out of different material. She looked at her knuckles and decided on the thickest tape thinking it was the best protection. She was unaware of eyes watching her._

_Marie stood up to go pay but noticed the old man coming towards her._

"_You are buying the wrong tape," He informed and plucked the box out of her hands._

_A little irked, Marie blinked and said nothing._

_The old man examined her hands and she crossed her arms, hiding them. She refused to meet his eyes._

_The shop keeper picked up another box and handed it to her. Marie took it quickly and noticed the tape was made out of thinner material._

"_This one is better, allows more flexibility," He said and left her without waiting for a reply._

_Marie bit her lip before following him to the front of the story after a minute of collecting herself. She found the man reading._

"_How much?" She asked._

_The man looked up from his book and observed her again with a calculating contemplation._

"_For you, nothing."_

_Marie stared at him, surprised. "You sure?"_

_He nodded and gave her a closed-lip smile._

"_Okay, well, thank you," She left the store hurriedly._

_That was strange but nice._

Marie blinked as the memory faded. She hadn't moved from her spot just inside her door and she didn't know how long she'd been standing there. Her stomach gurgled signaling she was in need of food. But a trip to the restroom was due first.

She walked into the bathroom connected to her bedroom to relieve herself. After she came out, she was startled by annoyingly insistent knocking on her door that could only be from one person.

The door swished open at the push of a button to reveal her uncle, his fist still up in a knocking motion.

"Oh, there you are," Tony sniffed.

"Yes?" Marie raised her eyebrows when he didn't say anything more.

"Where have you been?"

"Me?"

"Do you see anyone else here? Yes, you, Marie," Tony rolled his eyes, "I've been looking for you for almost an hour."

"Why didn't you look for me sooner? It's been longer than that since the last time I saw you," Marie crossed her arms, leaning against the door frame.

"Last time I saw you, you were angry. I didn't want to deal with a hormonal teenager."

"I was angry for a good reason! Besides, it is not my time of the month and I'm twenty, not a teen!" She retorted glaring at him.

"And this is why I'm never going to have kids, especially a girl; I never know what their moods will be!" Tony huffed.

Marie pinched the bridge of her nose, "Why are you here, Tony?"

"I was going to see if my favorite niece wanted some dinner."

Marie sighed and exited her room making her uncle step aside. Wordlessly, they started walking down the hall.

"I'm your only niece."

"Hence why you're my favorite," He quickly changed the subject, "Did you get your schedule yet?"

Marie brought the paper out of her back pocket, having forgotten it was there. Unfolding it, she quickly scanned the contents.

At the top was her name, and the space below that was left for her codename was blank. After, there were sections for each day of the week. Tomorrow, Monday, was weapons training and instruction in Armory Level Two, Room 2311 at 7:30 AM.

That was it, no name of the agent who was helping her. She quickly asked Tony about it.

"The instructor will most likely be Legolas."

"You mean Hawkeye."

Tony grinned, "I knew you were related to me somehow, we think alike."

Marie laughed, it felt like she hadn't shown this kind of mirth in days.

They entered the near empty mess hall which consisted of tables sitting eight. One wall was made entirely of glass and on the opposite side of the room were buffets filled with food.

Tony led Marie over to the buffet tables and grabbed a tray. They went through the line and got their food and drinks.

"The food here is horrible-oh, hey! How are ya? How are your kids? They're good? Good." Tony waved at one of the cooks who was glaring at him for his comment. He knew everyone's basic profile and never hesitated to throw what he could at whoever was giving him attitude.

Marie stared at her food, what Tony said was true, her steak didn't look too appetizing. They sat down side by side at one of the round tables near the windows.

"So, I heard you spent time with our dear Captain."

"How did you know? You don't have access to the security cameras, do you?" Marie wouldn't have been surprised.

"I actually passed Capsicle in one of the thousands of hallways. He looked deep in thought. He usually nods a hello to everyone out of politeness. This time, he hardly glanced at me until I said something," Tony stoked his chin thinking, "What did you say to him?"

"How do you know we had a conversation?"

"Because he said he escorted you to your room and, knowing him, he would have tried striking up an uncomfortable and awkward conversation."

Marie nodded and took a bite of her steak, immediately she resisted spitting it out as she chewed the rubbery meat.

"Rule number one of SHIELD food, always be wary of the meat," Tony notified laughing at her disgusted expression as she concentrated on swallowing. A government agency in control of protecting the Earth should have better quality food!

Marie coughed, "You could have said something!"

"And give up the chance to see your face? I strongly disagree," He replied, "Now, what did Rogers say?"

"Nothing interesting," She didn't want to bring up the question about how she learned how to fight.

"Come on!" Tony poked her side as she took a drink with his fork.

She sputtered and coughed again, "Tony, you're being childish."

"Why won't you tell me?" He narrowed his eyes, "Is it because you're embarrassed he was drawing you on the quinjet?"

Marie glared at him, "How did…"

He cut her off, "Oh, please, all of us noticed. I could hardly contain my laughter when I saw you glare at him."

She smirked, "Maybe I'll ask him to draw me like one of his French girls."

Tony stopped laughing and glared at her, "You better not, that's inappropriate. My niece is not ever going to be naked in front of the 94-year-old virgin. You'll make him faint!"

Marie chuckled and replied sarcastically, "And you're all about being appropriate."

Her uncle shrugged.

"Besides," She continued, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Five minutes later, she pushed her tray of half eaten food back and bid Tony goodnight. He hastily shoved his tray into her hands for her to dispose of. She grudgingly did so.

Marie made it back to her room without meeting anyone on the way. She was glad she and her uncle weren't fighting anymore.

She sighed as she saw her still packed bags against the wall. Screw unpacking now, she desired sleep. After kicking off her shoes, she flopped onto her bed and drifted off to the land of dreams.

-End Chapter-

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